Envision2045

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PUBLIC DRAFT IS AVAILABLE AND THE HEARINGS ARE NOW SCHEDULED

Click here to view the public hearing draft.

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

A comprehensive plan is a long-range policy document that guides the county’s growth and development for the next 20 years and is based on public input about what county communities want to look like in the future. Arizona Revised Statutes require counties to adopt a long-range comprehensive plan and update it every 10 years. The county has updated the 2015 comprehensive plan, and it is ready for your review.

Why was there a 60-day Review?

The 60-day review gives the public, local, and state agencies an opportunity to review and comment on the draft plan, prior to beginning public hearings. It is an important phase in the process, and your review and comments are essential to making sure the plan meets the values and vision. The 60-day review period was open from May 19 to July 18, 2025. Over 200 comments were received on the draft plan.

Review the 60-day review comments and draft.

Click on this link to view the 60-day Public Review Comments with comment numbers and locations.
Click on this link for a summary of the 60-day review comments and the responses.
A complete copy of the 60 day review Comprehensive Plan is available for download at this link - 60-day-Public-Review-draft-complete.

More About the Comprehensive Plan

Thank you for visiting the Envision 2045 site. The Comprehensive Plan is the County’s long-range policy document. It provides a twenty-year vision and guide for future physical, economic, and social development for the entire county, and contains maps, goals, policies, and implementation actions that guide decisions about the County’s future, in particular land use decisions. State law requires that the Comprehensive Plan address a range of topics, and that it be updated every 10 years. The update process will take approximately two years to prepare the updated Comprehensive Plan for approval in 2025.

View a short, 3-minute informational video explaining the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan 10-Year Update and how you can help - click here.

The Comprehensive Plan is:

An expression of the community’s vision for the future
A statement of county goals and policies
A guide to public and private decision making
A long-term perspective
A blueprint to improve resident’s quality of life
A legal requirement under Arizona State Law
A work plan for amending and updating ordinances, such as the zoning ordinance

The Comprehensive Plan is not:

A zoning ordinance, regulatory, or tax code
A specific area or community plan (see adopted Area Plans for that type of detail)
Unchangeable

County Communities

This map provides context into all that Coconino County encompasses. Displaying the various incorporated and unincorporated communities within the county as well as some of the land uses and jurisdictions, including Indigenous Nations, National Forest, Parks, and Private Lands. Providing context into such a large area is important as we create a roadmap for it all.

Project Phases

Phase I: Data Collection and Analysis

Winter - Fall 2023

Phase II: Educate and Envision

Winter 2023 - Spring 2025

We are in this phase now.

Phase III: Review Process & Plan Adoption

Summer - Winter 2025

Comprehensive Plan Advisory Group

The Coconino County Comprehensive Plan Advisory Group (CPAG) is an informal, temporary group invited by the Board of Supervisors to represent the diversity of the County. The role of the CPAG is advisory and will provide recommendations on the updated goals, policies, maps, and implementation strategies of the Comprehensive Plan Update, Envision 2045 to the Board of Supervisors, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and staff.

The members are:

Miranda	Baldosky
Tyanna	Burton
William	Cordasco - Chair
Jeannie	Gross
Laura	Huenneke
Diana	Kessler
Michael	Mongini
Judy	Nelson
Jim	Parks - Vice-chair
Aaron	Secakuku
Rose	Toehe

The CPAG began meeting in August, 2024 and will generally meet monthly on the third Thursday of the month, until the plan is completed. See the "Events and Meetings" dropdown for meeting agendas, links to the meetings, and meeting recordings.

Below is the tentative review schedule for the draft Comprehensive Plan chapters. Note that the draft chapters will be available on this site after CPAG review and subsequent revisions. Comments on chapter drafts may be submitted to the CDAG by emailing staff at mshaw@coconino.az.gov.

Chapters	Sustainability, Resilience, Energy, & Climate	Water Resources	Diverse Cultures and Community Character	Natural Environment	Circulation & Transportation	Land Use, Growth, and Development	Parks, Open Space, Trails & Recreation	Community Services, Public Safety, and Partnerships	Resilient Economies and Housing
CPAG review date	9/26/2024	9/26/2024	10/17/2024	10/17/2024	11/25/2024	1/16/2025	1/16/2025	2/20/2025	2/20/2025

Events and Meetings

Comprehensive Plan Advisory Group (CPAG) Meetings, Agendas, and Video Recordings

Open House: April 30, 2024 @ Fort Valley Campus

Open House at The Fort Valley Campus | April 30, 2024

Community input, food, raffle... that was the Open House. We were happy to host the community and give everyone an update as we continue moving forward in the drafting processs!

County Fair at the County Fairgrounds

County Fair at the County Fairgrounds in Fort Tuthill Park | September 1st – 4th, 2023

Public participation from all geographic areas of the county is key to creating a successful plan, and county staff was at the Fair!  We engaged with about 800 fair-goers and talked about the Envision 2045 process.  Many took an intercept survey, signed up for the mailing list, played with the puzzle map, or just learned about the Comprehensive Plan.  Thanks to everyone who visited our booth.

Future Meetings

Check back frequently for updates on future events

Public participation from all geographic areas of the county is key to creating a successful plan. We need to hear from you! Look for the Envision 2045 Banner and talk to staff for more information about the plan, activities, and surveys.

What We Have Learned - Surveys and Focus Group Discussions

During the fall of 2023 and winter of 2024, county staff traveled across the county to conduct over 29 small focus group discussions with invited community members.  During the focus group we've learned about ideas for the values, vision, needs, issues, trends for the future, and solutions that could be considered in the Envison 2045 update.  During February, 2024, a community wide survey was conducted to test the relevance of the focus group discussion summary data and generally found that residents living in unincorporated Coconino County share the same values, vision, needs and issues identified during the focus groups.

Review the Community Survey Report, Focus Group Summary Report, and the notes from each focus group discussion here, where you may add your comments.

Community Survey Report

Focus Group Discussion Summary Report

Check out these documents! Compilation of Community Engagement Opportunities | Theme Summary Tables from Focus Groups

High School Focus Group Notes: The final summaries of what we learned at our various High School Focus Groups across the County can be found here: Fredonia HS | Page HS | Ponderosa HS | Tse Yaato HS

Documents

Stay informed about what documents have been developed for this project and how they will be used going forward.

Updated Public Participation Plan (P3): As mandated by the State, the P3 was approved by the Board of Supervisors in May 2023 and is intended to be dynamic and flexible to pivot as opportunities for different and/or additional public participation arise over the course of the Comprehensive Plan update process. The specific contacts and outreach efforts listed in the P3 may continue to evolve as the process unfolds.
Community Assessment Reports (CARs): A CAR is intended to be a “snapshot in time” of what the County knows about the services, land uses, infrastructure and issues within the diverse communities/areas across the county. This snapshot will serve as a foundation and help with the preparation of the Comprehensive Plan – Envision 2045, and have also provided information for communities during the focus group interview process. These are posted here: Alpine Ranchos, Glittering Mountain and Twin Arrows CAR | Arizona Strip Communities CAR | Bellemont CAR | Blue Ridge, Happy Jack, Clint's Well and Stoneman Lake CAR | Cameron CAR | Diablo Trust and Large Ranch Properties CAR | Doney Park, Timberline and Fernwood CAR | Forest Highlands CAR | Forest Lakes CAR | Fort Valley, 180 Scenic Corridor and County at Large CAR | Greenehaven CAR | Highway 89 Corridor and Gray Mountain CAR | Kachina Village and Mountainaire CAR | KEW/Westwood Ranches CAR | Mormon Lake and Lake Mary CAR | Munds Park and South I-17 Communities CAR | Oak Creek Canyon CAR | Parks CAR |Red Lake CAR | Tuba City CAR | Valle CAR | Winslow West and Leupp Corner CAR
Newsletters: Periodic newsletters will be sent to our mailing list. Please join the list to stay up to date with the most current news! Past and Current Newsletters can also be found below:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

The Comprehensive Plan serves as a roadmap for the future by establishing a long-term county vision along with goals and policies to guide land use decisions, direct growth and community programs responsibly, identify solutions, and improve the quality of life for county residents.

Why does the County need a Comprehensive Plan?

Arizona Revised Statute 11-804 requires that all counties must adopt, or readopt, a comprehensive plan which shall be developed so as to conserve the natural resources of the county, to ensure efficient expenditure of public monies and to promote the health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the public.

Does the County already have a Comprehensive Plan?

The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2015. State statutes require that a County’s Comprehensive Plan be updated every 10 years. This mandated timeline benefits the community by ensuring that the Comprehensive Plan remains responsive to changing conditions, new trends, issues, and unforeseen influences. Planning for the future based on a shared vision for the physical, economic and social development is good for the county community, it benefits residents, sets priorities for county budgets and work plans, and identifies implementation actions that guide the County’s future.

What topic areas does the Comprehensive Plan cover?

The Coconino County Comprehensive Plan includes the following topic areas, described as "Elements" in the Plan, each with its own chapter.

Sustainability & Resiliency
Natural Environment

Water Resources
Land Use & Growth
Community Character
Economic Development
Parks, open Space, Trails & Recreation

Community Services
Public Safety
Circulation
Energy
Implementation

What is the difference between the County's Comprehensive Plan & the Flagstaff Regional Plan?

Both are long range planning documents that contain goals and policies used to guide our community toward achieving a vision for the future. The Coconino County Comprehensive Plan is the twenty-year vision for the future of the entire county and is the county’s primary reference for making land use and other decisions. It is supplemented by detailed area plans and other planning documents that are adopted as amendments to it. One of those is the Flagstaff Regional Plan.

The Flagstaff Regional Plan compliments the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The Flagstaff region is home to the majority of the County’s population, and, like an area plan, the Regional Plan provides a more granular and specific level of detail for the greater Flagstaff (metropolitan) area than the Comprehensive plan. The two documents work together to provide a vision and direction for future development.

The Regional Plan is currently being updated, and County Staff is working with City Staff on the update to this shared document. For more information about the Flagstaff Regional Plan, visit the website here: Flagstaff Regional Plan 2045 (arcgis.com).

What does it mean if my community has an Area Plan?

An Area Plan is an official amendment to the Comprehensive Plan approved and adopted by the Board of Supervisors that pertains to a specific geographically defined area be it a community, specific neighborhood, or a rural area. Similar to the Comprehensive Plan, an Area Plan reflects the local resident’s vision for the future, contains goals and policies for development and provides guidance for decision makers at a more detailed and granular level. Area Plans are created through an extensive public participation process.

How can I get involved?

Sign-up for emails to get notifications about upcoming events and to receive news about the project. Visit the Comprehensive Plan booth at public events to talk to staff about the project or attend an Open House Event to share your thoughts with us. Stay informed by visiting the project website frequently, and contribute by responding to survey questions posed throughout the project.

How does my input make a difference?

In order to know what to maintain, enhance or change, the county needs your input to provide direction. Improving the quality of life for our residents, communities and the natural environment that we all share and value is the reason to get involved in the development of the policy document that guides the County’s future land use, social and economic decisions.

Melissa Shaw

Coconino County Planning and Zoning

mshaw@coconino.az.gov

Jess McNeely

Coconino County Planning and Zoning

wmcneely@coconino.az.gov